AN IMMIGRATION SIMULATION • DESIGNS BY STUDIO EG • TALES FROM TEST KITCHENS TO TODAY
MEET THE MAESTRO
A CHAT WITH ASO’S CARLOS IZCARAY
from the
MARCH/APRIL 2019 HomewoodLife.com Volume Three | Issue Two $4.95
SOURCE
HOW SACHAI TEA CAME TO BE HomewoodLife.com 1
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OUR AGENTS ARE EFFICIENT. OUR SALES TOOLS ARE EFFECTIVE. OUR CLIENTS ARE ECSTATIC. (AND OUR NUMBERS ARE THERE TO PROVE IT)
In 2018, houses listed by ARC agents sold 18 days faster and for $73,341 more than the market average, so our clients had less stress and more money. We also solidified ourselves as the largest privately owned agency in the state. So far 2019 is on pace to be even better. We have new systems, new technologies, new marketing tools, and still the same great service. Thank you for being a part of our journey.
2018 GALMLS SOLD DATA, CLOSING DATES 1/1/18-12/31/18
Introducing Precision Sports Medicine & Orthopedics
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7 Convenient Locations: ALABASTER | CLANTON | FULTONDALE | HOOVER | THE NARROWS | PRINCETON | VESTAVIA
FEATURES
56
MEET THE MAESTRO Alabama Symphony Orchestra’s director talks about music, home and how the symphony is like football.
63
BUILDERS & BUYERS SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
With spring comes spring cleaning and more. Here’s your guide to home décor, organizing and other resources.
69
These food professionals are driving innovation and comfort in Homewood and beyond—and all of them were undeniably shaped by their time at national magazines published on Lakeshore.
6 March/April 2019
PHOTO BY LINDSEY CULVER
THE MEAL MAVENS
69
35 arts & culture
19 Doodle Design: Ella Grace Ivey’s Vivid Colors 26 Read This Book: Titles to Challenge & Inspire from H.I.V.E.
schools & sports
27 A Whole New World: Simulating Immigration at HMS
food
& drink
35 Reading the Tea Leaves: How Sachai Goes to the Source 44 Take a Taste: On Board for Brunch
home
& style
PHOTO BY MARY FEHR
in every issue 6 Contributors 7 From the Editor 9 #HomewoodLife 11 The Question 13 The Guide 78 Chamber Connections 80 Out & About 86 Marketplace 88 My Homewood
45 A Home to Keep: Tour the Lawrences’ Renovation 53 At Home: The (Easy) Way to Style a Bookshelf 54 In Style: Casually Cool for Spring
HomewoodLife.com 7
contributors EDITORIAL
Graham Brooks Stephen Dawkins Alec Etheredge Briana Harris Madoline Markham Keith McCoy Emily Sparacino Neal Wagner
CONTRIBUTORS
James Culver Lindsey Culver Mary Fehr Madison Freeman Ashley Kappel Melanie Peeples Elizabeth Sturgeon Lauren Ustad Courtney Wright
DESIGN
Connor Bucy Jamie Dawkins Kate Green
MARKETING
Kristy Brown Kari George Rachel Henderson Daniel Holmes Rhett McCreight Kim McCulla Viridiana Romero Kerrie Thompson
ADMINISTRATION Hailey Dolbare Mary Jo Eskridge Katie McDowell Stacey Meadows Tim Prince
Mary Fehr, Photographer
Mary is a wedding and portrait photographer based out of Birmingham. She studied art and art history at University of Montevallo. She likes to teach and plans on getting her MFA in order to do so. Mary also loves to travel and has a goal of photographing a wedding in every state! She enjoys reading non-fiction, going to concerts and spending time with her family.
Madison Freeman, Stylist
Madison works as a clinical recruiter for Encompass Health and on the side is a fashion, home decor, travel and lifestyle blogger. To see all of her blog posts, visit insidemyopendoor.com or follow her on Instagram @mbbfreeman. In Madison’s free time, she loves to travel with her husband and spend time with their golden retriever, Luna.
Melanie Peeples, Writer
When Melanie Peeples first moved to Homewood 11 years ago, she couldn’t figure out why so many people were wearing shirts that said “Homewood” on them. Three years later she wanted to know where she could find one, having fallen deeply in love with the town people compare to living in a Norman Rockwell painting. Before becoming a mostly full-time mom, she covered the South for NPR, writing about everything from the trial of the country’s first school shooter to the 100th anniversary of the MoonPie. She loves travelling to new places (and old places, too) and also coming home.
Lauren Ustad, Photographer
Lauren lives in Homewood with her husband, Joe, their three daughters, and their 2-pound Yorkie they refer to as “Boobie.” She spends her professional time posing itty bitties and chasing little munchkins. In her free time you can probably find her slaving away at their most current renovation project or building Legos with her self-proclaimed super heroes.
Homewood Life is published bimonthly by Shelby County Newspapers Inc., P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051. Homewood Life is a registered trademark. All contents herein are the sole property of Shelby County Newspapers Inc. [the Publisher]. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without written permission from the Publisher. Please address all correspondence (including but not limited to letters, story ideas and requests to reprint materials) to: Editor, Homewood Life, P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051. Homewood Life is mailed to select households throughout Homewood, and a limited number of free copies are available at local businesses. Please visit HomewoodLife.com for a list of those locations. Subscriptions are available at a rate of $16.30 for one year by visiting HomewoodLife.com or calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 532. Advertising inquiries may be made by emailing advertise@homewoodlife.com, or by calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 536.
8 March/April 2019
from the editor
O
ON THE COVER
Sachai Tea Company
Clint and Rebecca Denson named their loose-leaf tea operation for the Hindi word for “truth.” Photo by Mary Fehr Design by Kate Green
Often I feel like a bit of a geographical snob when I ask people what part of town they live in. After all, it’s only if they live in or have ties to Homewood and only Homewood that I can feature them in this lovely magazine I get to be the gatekeeper for. But that’s what makes these pages what they are too. The people in the pages that follow aren’t just interesting people making their mark in the world (though they are). They also live or work on the streets we drive through daily—and have been shaped by them just as we all have. And so when I ended up reading about how Rebecca and Clint Denson grew up drinking tea, she in Southern India and he in Mississippi, I was thinking, “How cool of a story is that?!” And then when I saw their Sachai Tea Company is based right on Oxmoor Road, I reacted accordingly, “Yes, they are Homewood people!” Likewise, when River Brook Construction connected me with Maggie Worthington to talk about her home renovation, her Homewood address sealed the deal. What I didn’t know then was that both she and her husband, Craig, AND the Densons all went to Samford—just to round out the Homewood love. Speaking of, not everyone who drives past Samford knows that their campus is adjacent to national magazine operations back on their own wooded campus. Not me though—I spent a year there honing my craft with Southern Living before finding my way into the delightful niche of community journalism. And sharing the stories of other folks whose professional paths were undeniably shaped on that campus that we share in this issue felt like a homecoming of sorts with talented people I got to meet in my season there—and the many others I’ve heard great things about from the extended network of magazine professionals past and present in this city. But most of all, we share their stories here to spotlight the stories they are living today, helping bring dinner to tables near and far, be it through markets or TV or meal delivery. I should note that the fact that I ran out of space here to devote a whole paragraph each here to our stories on Alabama Symphony Orchestra conductor Carlos Izcaray and the Immigration Simulation at Homewood Middle School in no ways means they are any less stellar and Homewood-loving than the others. Be sure to give them a read, plus many little other features we have in this issue too. Thanks for spending time with our pages! I always love to hear your ideas for what to fill them with in future issues, so feel free to reach out any time.
madoline.markham@homewoodlife.com
HomewoodLife.com 9
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VOTE TODAY! HOMEWOOD’S
BEST HO
10 March/April 2019
2019
MEW
OODLIFE.C
OM
VOTING OPEN MARCH 1-15 Winners will be announced in the May/June 2019 issue of HOMEWOOD LIFE.
HOMEWOODLIFE.COM/BEST-VOTE
#HomewoodLife
Tag @HomewoodLife in your Homewood photos on Instagram, and we’ll pick our favorites to regram and publish on this page in each issue.
@heykatbakes
Fun collab with @party_pickup a few weeks ago :) #heykatbakes #decoratedcookies #sugarcookies #welovehomewood #homewoodalabama #homewoodlife
@jenren15
Almost there…1 more day
@marybiggs
We take what we can get #alabamasnow
@official_cliffbell
Next the Dunn’s home in Homewood always brings out the floats!
HomewoodLife.com 11
The connection to his hand is just as important as the connection to his chest. A COMMUNITY BUILT ON WARMTH We never forget that there’s more to care than medicine. There’s compassion. Attentiveness. And a healthy dose of kindness. Which is why when it comes to your care, all of us are here to treat you well. Find a physician at BrookwoodBaptistHealth.com Brookwood Baptist Medical Center | Citizens Baptist Medical Center | Princeton Baptist Medical Center | Shelby Baptist Medical Center | Walker Baptist Medical Center
“ ” THE QUESTION
What one place in Homewood holds the most significant memory, or sets of memories, for you? Sam’s Super Samwiches. I started eating there as a kid with my family almost every Saturday and now I get to take my own children.
Homewood Park Community Center. Mr. Waldon taught many of us young men how to play bridge. I saw my wife for the first time when she was about 12.
Waldrop Stadium, watching football games and seeing my kids perform in the halftime show.
At Edgewood Elementary Mrs. Stanton was helping me fill out the paperwork, when I wrote my address I wrote Birmingham, Alabama. She said, “Honey you live in Homewood.”
-Lyndsey Bolen Mooney
-Emily Comer Beaumont
Savage’s Bakery...we have enjoyed delicious treats and tomato aspic for four generations!! -Katie Graham Slaughter
Woodland Park. I can’t tell you how many hours my kids have logged splashing in the creek, collecting treasures and looking for birds there. -Elizabeth Malone Casement
-Bobby Naccari
-Lynn Coleman Luckianow
Homewood Park. I remember the old creek. Families would picnic and throw out their watermelon seeds along the bank among the canna lilies. -Pam McCool Garrison
My mom worked at City Federal Savings and Loan, where Jensei is now. The police chief gave me FBI most-wanted posters to play with, and the prisoners would wave at me. -Laura Lind HomewoodLife.com 13
THE GUIDE
SPRING PLANT SALE APRIL 12-14 FRIDAY 9 A.M.-6 P.M., SATURDAY 9 A.M.-4 P.M., SUNDAY 11 A.M.-3 P.M. Brookwood Village Macy’s Upper Parking Lot Get your green thumb on and choose from more than 100,000 plants, most of which have been nurtured by volunteers at Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Plant experts will be on-site and proceeds benefit The Gardens’ educational goals. HomewoodLife.com 15
THE GUIDE APRIL 13
Homewood Easter Egg Hunt 5:30 P.M. BYOB (bring your own basket, that is) and get ready to hunt—and join in on the fun of games, prizes, bounce houses and Easter Bunny photos. Ages 1-2 and 3-4 will hunt at 6:30 p.m., ages 7-8 at 7:05 p.m., and ages 7-8 and 9-11 at 7:45 p.m. (so big kids, bring a flashlight). Check homewoodparks.com for updates on the location for the event.
WHAT TO DO IN HOMEWOOD MARCH 2 Exceptional Foundation Chili Cook-Off Brookwood Village 10 a.m.-3 p.m. MARCH 5 MOMS Club Mardi Gras Parade Homewood Central Park 3:45 p.m. Lineup MARCH 17 Wild West Roundup Benefitting College Choice Foundation Good People Brewing Company MARCH 17 Cornapalooza Benefitting Homewood Athletic Foundation Pizzeria GM
APRIL 7
Jazz in the Park 3 P.M. Homewood Central Park
Really the event name says it all. Except you should also know that it’s free. Join the Homewood Arts Council for this annual event in partnership with Magic City Smooth Jazz. Because who doesn’t want to chill on the lawn and hear live music in spring weather with their neighbors?
APRIL 1-26
Student Art Exhibit Homewood Public Library Calling all student artists! The Homewood Public Library is inviting all in grades K-12 who live in Jefferson County students to submit up to two original works of art produced within the last 12 months by March 22, to go on display April 1-26. Entry forms can be downloaded from the library’s website. 16 March/April 2019
MARCH 19 Homewood Chamber Membership Luncheon The Club APRIL 4-7 The Underpants Homewood Theatre at The Dance Foundation APRIL 6 Spikeball Tournament Patriot Park 9 a.m.-Noon APRIL 12 Document Shredding & Electronics Recycling Homewood Public Library Back Parking Lot 10 a.m.-2 p.m. APRIL 12 Dolores Hydock Presents Taking Sides Homewood Public Library *Tickets Required APRIL 13 Self–Defense for Women with Det. Juan Rodriquez Homewood Public Library *Register Online
THE GUIDE APRIL 13 Hop ‘n Shop Downtown Homewood 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. APRIL 17 Homewood Chamber Annual Excellence in Education & Membership Luncheon The Club APRIL 26 Relay for Life Homewood Central Park APRIL 27 Shades Creek Festival Jemison Park 10 a.m.-2 p.m. APRIL 27 Edgewood Spring Festival Edgewood Elementary School 3-7 p.m.
BOOKS
Ernestine’s Milky Way Debut
A young girl ventures through the twisting trails of the Great Smoky Mountains in the 1940s to bring her neighbors two mason jars of fresh milk. And UAB Creative Writing Director Kerry Madden-Lunsford has penned her story with illustrations by Emily Sutton, to be released March 5. “I’m thrilled it’s coming out during Women’s History Month because the real Ernestine was one of the bravest women I know,” Kerry says. There’s two chances to see Kerry talk about the new children’s book as part of her release tour: ALABAMA BOOKSMITH: Monday, March 4, 5 p.m. HOMEWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY: Saturday, March 23, 10:30 a.m., with Little Professor selling books
HomewoodLife.com 17
THE GUIDE AROUND TOWN FEB. 28-MARCH 3 Annie Jr. Virginia Samford Theatre MARCH 8-10 Alabama Ballet Presents: The Sleeping Beauty BJCC Concert Hall MARCH 15+17 Opera Birmingham Presents Tosca Samford University Wright Center
DEVELOPMENT
Heart of Homewood You’re looking at the (potential) future of 18th Street, and the City Hall Plaza, and the tunnel under 31 by Shades Cahaba! These renderings are all from the Heart of Homewood master plan that will guide the city’s growth and development for the next 10-15 years. Learn more about it at heartofhomewood.com.
MARCH 15+18 Alabama Story Red Mountain Theatre Company Cabaret Theatre MARCH 19 Percy Cook Ratliff Lecture Series: Author Eric Metaxas Samford University Wright Center MARCH 23 Rumpshaker 5K Regions Field MARCH 28-APRIL 7 Man of La Mancha Virginia Samford Theatre APRIL 4-6 Alabama Auto Show BJCC Exhibition Halls APRIL 5-7 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Barber Motorsports Park
MARCH 9
Kiwanis Pancake Day Event and Silent Auction 7 A.M. - NOON The Exceptional Foundation Rise and shine, and come out for some hot cakes, sausage and coffee, plus a Kid’s Zone. Tickets are $5 for adults and free for children age 5 and under, and 100 percent goes to children’s causes locally through the Kiwanis Club of Homewood-Mountain Brook. 18 March/April 2019
APRIL 10-14 Birmingham Barons vs. Tennessee Smokies Regions Field APRIL 12-14 Samford & Samford’s Spring Awakening Virginia Samford Theatre APRIL 12-23 13 The Musical Red Mountain Theatre Company Cabaret Theatre APRIL 14 BHM26.2 Marathon, Half-
THE GUIDE Marathon, Team Relay and Fun Run Railroad Park APRIL 16 Anthony Ray Hinton, Tom and Marla Corts Distinguished Author Series Samford University Wright Center APRIL 20-24 Birmingham Barons vs. Jackson Generals Regions Field APRIL 26-27 Lebanese Food and Culture Festival St. Elias Maronite Church APRIL 26-28 Magic City Art Connection Linn Park APRIL 26-28 Alabama Ballet Presents: Ovation BJCC Concert Hall
SAVE THE DATE
We Love Homewood Day 2018
Saturday, May 4—mark your calendars because your favorite day of parades and bounce houses and sidewalk chalk art competitions is coming up soon. Plus Homewood Grown, benefitting Homewood City Schools Foundation, is moving to that same weekend this year, so make sure May 3 at the terrace of Soho Square is on your calendar too to hear sports analyst and former Auburn football player Cole Cubelic speak. We can’t wait for May!
SPONSORS: PLATINUM City of Birmingham This is Alabama GOLD Birmingham Magazine Birmingham Mountain Radio 107.3fm Homewood Life Joe Piper Starnes Media SILVER Bell Media Kinetic Communications Alabama Power
Image: John Lytle Wilson
BRONZE Publix Super Markets Charities Encompass Health BlueCross BlueShield Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau Over the Mountain Journal
April 26-28
STEEL Alabama State Council on the Arts & the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency Babypalooza Magazine Bancography Bham Now Birmingham Business Journal B-Metro Event Rentals Unlimited Excursions by CityVision Jemison Investment Company, Inc. LeafFilter North of Alabama WBHM Public Radio 90.3fm Yarbrough Festival Foodservice
Linn Park, downtown Birmingham, Alabama www.magiccityart.com HomewoodLife.com 19
M O D E R N N E W B O R N + C H I L D + FA M I LY P O R T R A I T U R E INFOAPEPPERMINTPHOTO.COM | 205.807.6431 H E I R LO O M A L B U M S | A R C H I VA L Q UA L I T Y P O R T R A I T S
W W W . A P E P P E R M I N T P H O T O . C O M
&CULTURE
ARTS
DOODLE DESIGN
Vivid colors of cheer burst off the pages, and posts, of Ella Grace Ivey’s calligraphy and sketches. BY ELIZABETH STURGEON PHOTOS BY LINDSEY CULVER HomewoodLife.com 21
22 March/April 2019
O
One of Ella Grace Ivey’s favorite dresses is a shimmery purple one. With touches of magenta and gold and a tulle-like texture, it flares out as a whimsical and glowing party dress. But it’s not something she’s worn. This dress is one that she’s imagined and brought to life with watercolor. These fashion sketches are just a part of many artistic endeavors for Ella Grace, a junior at Homewood High School. Along with her apparel designs, formal and casual, she does calligraphy, portraits, notecards, painting and sometimes combinations of each—all captured in posts on her @studio. eg. “It’s my creative outlet,” Ella Grace says. “I’ve always been an artsy kind of person.” When she first started her Instagram account, she posted her doodles and explored with different techniques, and then in ninth grade she began telling more and more of her friends about the account and making new products. Art helped her work through different anxieties that year. “That’s how I discovered my gift. It helped me relieve stress to paint and draw,” Ella Grace says. “People don’t know that ninth grade was rough for me, but I’m open about it because, in the end, everybody struggles.” After she began posting more sketches and scripts, more people started following her HomewoodLife.com 23
Homewood High School junior Ella Grace Ivey paints near a window in her home.
24 March/April 2019
ELLA GRACE’S FAVORITES Best dessert? The half-baked cookie at Urban Cookhouse
Go-to dinner spot? Pizzeria GM Place to shop? Shoe Fly
Favorite color combination? Probably deep purples and blues with light golds and pinks. Art-making tip? Don’t give up! No art is
perfect, so don’t get discouraged if something doesn’t turn out the way you expect it to. That’s just where the real beauty in art is found! Dream job? It’s pretty lofty, but probably working for Vogue or something!
and asking her to make things. She started off selling notecards and then did some individual projects, and everything grew from there. Although it all started with some of her friends asking her to write their names in cursive, Studio EG now has more than 700 followers interested in her designs. Ella Grace’s talent covers a wide range of mediums and forms, but she sees them all connect with color. The vivid paint she uses bursts off the page, flowing and blending into other colors and bringing a cheer to her work. Whether it’s a fashion sketch or a calligraphy design, her work is happy, positive and bright. As she explores new paints and techniques, Ella Grace has also crafted her own vivid yet minimal style. “I’ve always been naturally able to play around with paint, but I’ve become simpler with
it,” she says. “It’s more focused on the main subject.” When she does portraits, she focuses more on the essence of the person than the realistic details, like in the painting of Queen Elizabeth she gave her mom this past Christmas. She crafts the outline, and then lets her color do the rest. With about three years of investing in this creative outlet, Ella Grace has gotten to do some big projects. She addressed wedding invitations for a family friend and created a banner for a neighbor’s Williams Syndrome fundraiser walk. “I feel honored that they asked me to do meaningful projects,” she says. Ella Grace has also been able to show her work in a few art shows here and there. She first set up shop at one of Prodigal Pottery’s shows her freshman year, and her most recent one was the Sweet Peas Garden Shop show last fall. She’s
HomewoodLife.com 25
always surprised by how many followers she’s gotten from her different projects. Between cheer and show choir, school and college tours, Ella Grace spends her weekend free time on her art whenever she can. But, she is looking at making it a bigger part of her life in whatever college program she decides on. Right now, she’s looking at Auburn University’s graphic or apparel design departments, expanding her 26 March/April 2019
interest in her fashion sketches. She’s never even taken an art class in school, but it’s something Ella Grace looks forward to pursuing. “I’ve always been known as a good artist, but I didn’t expect it to turn into something,” she says. To see more of Ella Grace Ivey’s work, follow her on Instagram @studio.eg.
LOOKING FOR A NEW HOME IN
HOMEWOOD? CALL KEVIN MISSO
205.383.9699 Ray&Poynor.com
As a licensed home builder, Kevin can provide a unique perspective to the real estate market. He is passionate about the needs of his clients and enjoys helping families find the perfect home. His experience as both a realtor and home builder allow him to guide his clients through the details of the purchase process and adequately budget for any renovations as they see fit.
1797 MURRAY HILL ROAD HOMEWOOD AL. 35209
3rd Annual Ella Grace posts images of her designs on Instagram at @studio.eg.
NOW OPEN!
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*Please check our website or Facebook page for field conditions before your trip.
The American Village • 3727 Hwy. 119, Montevallo, AL www.americanvillage.org • (205) 665-3535
HomewoodLife.com 27
READ THIS BOOK
Titles to Challenge & Inspire Recommendations from
H.I.V.E. Books
H.I.V.E. Books grew out of H.I.V.E. Alabama (Huddle, Inquire, Validate, Enact), a group of women wanting to create positive change in our community and beyond. Meeting monthly at Seeds Coffee, they focus on books about race, politics and glimpses into experiences unlike their own—you know, the easy stuff! They welcome all to their meetings and to learn more at hivealabama.com.
Born A Crime
By Trevor Noah More than a story about Trevor Noah’s childhood, Born a Crime is also an education in Apartheid, race relations and class. Told with warmth, compassion, and optimism, parts are laugh-out-loud funny, others horrifying. Painful episodes are recounted with humor, honesty and humanity. We recommend the audio version as Trevor reads his own words!
Citizen: An American Lyric
By Claudia Rankine An essay, poem and visual artistic journey all rolled into one book and highlighting the experiences of black life in America. Rankine relays stories of both outright racism while also highlighting the “microaggressions” of perhaps well-meaning people. Themes of invisibility, mental health and defining self worth challenge the notion of being a citizen while being valued as less than.
Magic City Gospel
By Ashley M. Jones Teacher and award-winning poet Ashley M. Jones wrote a thought-provoking collection of poems about growing up as a person of color in Birmingham. She explores many facets of her experiences—from her own self-image, to her family’s love, to the beauty she finds in her home city. The poems are lyrical, short, and sweet, yet profound. We are looking forward to reading her second collection of poems, “dark // thing.”
The Hate U Give
By Angie Thomas A heartrending book about a 16-year-old African-American girl in the midst of cultural conflict secondary to living in a poor neighborhood where gunfire is common, all the while attending a predominantly white private school across town. Her struggles continue as her childhood friend is shot and killed, and she must deal with his death and take a stance against systemic racism.
Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race
By Debby Irving Irving’s honest portrayal on understanding how her upbringing and societal influences unconsciously defined her view of race. By looking deeper, Irving begins to recognize and understand how American systems and ideology favor white skin and disadvantage people of color. Her experiences encourage her audience to see the world through a new lens and to embrace anxiety and vulnerability in order to have the difficult conversations necessary to move forward.
28 March/April 2019
SCHOOL
&SPORTS
A WHOLE NEW WORLD The year is 1907. The location is Ellis Island. Here’s how sixth graders experience an immigration simulation. BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS BY LINDSEY CULVER HomewoodLife.com 29
I
It starts on a boat. The setting is seemingly familiar—the school they attend every day. But today these sixth graders are dressed as if they live back in 1907 and have an identity card in hand that transports them back in time and to the waters approaching Ellis Island. When it comes time to walk off the boat, a man might ask them to step aside. “Wait, why can’t I go?” the immigrantin-character likely responds. And that’s when the
30 March/April 2019
confusion begins. That’s when the role starts to feel real. That’s when one person’s story diverges from the person next to them. Or maybe the reality-in-character moment comes when students need to have their bag checked or when their baby is crying and must be inspected. Then they will start playing along, start rocking their baby doll. “Wait sir, you have to wait,” the inspector might say. “Something
doesn’t look right with your limp.” “It wakes them up,” teacher Dave Marshall recounts of Homewood Middle School’s annual Immigration Simulation. “They realize this is not going to be a normal day. The story they had planned might not go like they think it’s going to go. (Like the immigrants on Ellis Island), some went through easily and others had to wait and cry out for their children or go back to their
homeland.” Perhaps the most disorienting station of the simulation is one where students face a language barrier. Parent and grandparent volunteers who speak German or Spanish or Arabic or Greek will administer a questionnaire in the language they speak but the students do not. “What?” the kids say. “Huh? I don’t understand.” And yet they have to try to answer questions. HomewoodLife.com 31
Sixth graders wait in line to go through an inspection (pictured on the right) as part of an Immigration Simluation at Homewood Middle School.
32 March/April 2019
Each year you’ll find Dave and the other sixth-grade teachers in the inspection line, with tools in hand, ready to yell when necessary and otherwise fully act in character. They bear the pun-filled names of Vera Loud, Maddie Lott and Addie Tude to play on their character’s personality. The simulation’s founder, Donna Johnson, who is now retired, was always Inspector Hattie Nuff. “Like any actor, it starts with research,” Dave says. “This year I focused a lot on the types of diseases that inspectors would be looking for.” He has the immigrants remove their hats so he can look out for lice on the scalp, and he examines their eyes and eye lids and checks their posture watching for signs of a limp, their skin for outbreaks or rashes, their strength to ensure they can work. At another station, one of many staffed by parent volunteers, the immigrants’ mental acumen is tested with puzzles and patterns, at another they are given a literacy exam, and at still another they undergo a legal manifest interview to make sure they are who they say they are and know their plans upon arrival. Once the students make it through all the inspection stations, they find representatives from the Red Cross, Travelers Aid Society, and other organizations with job applications and sign-ups for English classes and housing ready. They can also send a telegram home to tell their family they have arrived in America and exchange their currency into dollars and cents. And before they return to the reality of 2019, students collect their luggage (in the form of their backpacks) and all congregate outside holding American flags to, as new U.S. residents, say the Pledge of Allegiance and sing “God Bless America.” Each school year HMS sixth-grade social studies classes start their studies in the late 1800s with the rise of industrialization and the growth of cities in the United States—and the influx of European immigrants. “We talk HomewoodLife.com 33
“
(Like the immigrants on Ellis Island), some went through easily and others had to wait and cry out for their children or go back to their homeland.
”
–Dave Marshall
ANDREA CARMICHAEL, INC. Let us guide you to your first home Buying a home is one of the most exciting—and complex—transactions of your life. You may have questions, and it’s important to choose a mortgage provider you can trust to communicate the important facts. Contact me today to learn more about how I can assist you with one of the most important decisions of your life: choosing your home financing. Daniel DiGuglielmo Producing Branch Manager NMLS# 267473 4009 Crosshaven Dr. Birmingham, AL 35243 205-908-3587 daniel.diguglielmo@caliberhomeloans.com www.caliberhomeloans.com/danield Caliber Home Loans and any above mentioned companies are not affiliated. [cc(company_info):full_name item="corporate"], [cc(company_info):address item="corporate"]. NMLS ID#[cc (company_info):nmls_number item="corporate"] ([cc(global_links):url item="nmls_co_stem"][cc(company_info):nmls_number item="corporate"]). [cc(company_info):phone_number item="corporate"]. [cc(disclaimer_parts):text item="copyright"] [cc(disclaimer_parts):text item="ehl"] [cc(disclaimer_parts):text item="consumer"] [cc(states):disclaimer item="AL"] [cc(states): disclaimer item="GA"] [cc(states):disclaimer item="FL"]
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YOUR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT TEAM Our Focus is on the Art of Living Let Us Make Your Daily Life Easier New Construction/ Renovation/Restoration Rot Repair, Window and Door Replace ment Aging in Place/Multi-Generational Living Elevator Installation, Space Planning, Effective Lighting Solutions Energy Conservation Solutions Storm Window Installation, Efficient Syste ms Updates System Efficiency updates Maintenance Programs and other property problems
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Credentials “Licensed Home Builder, Registered Interior Designer Decades of Experience in this Community”
about the hardships they faced, which leads us into the progressive era when there were so many things wrong with the cities that there was a need for social reform,” teacher Darby Baird explains. By October, they are stepping back in time to 1907, the year of highest population shift of that era, and to the Immigration Simulation. Each student is assigned a country of origin, and they pick a name and create an identity for themselves. For many of the school’s 375 sixth-graders immigration is a foreign process until this day, but for others it’s not all unfamiliar from reality. Darby recalls a student one year whose family had moved to Homewood that year from a Middle Eastern country and who spoke very little English. “The Immigration Simulation was daunting for her, so prior to it (ESL teacher) Ms. (Georgia) Miller and I prepared her for what it was going to look like,” Darby says. “After the simulation she was very happy to talk about the differences in what she experienced versus what the simulation was like.” When Donna Johnson started the Immigration Simulation, first in her classroom in 2003 and as a sixth-grade-wide event in 2007, she would also lead discussions on similarities and differences between historical immigration and immigration today. “It was interesting to the students to see the parallels, that they needed better lives and better jobs and wanted an education and to leave poverty and religious oppression,” she says. “A lot of that was very similar to what it is today, so that
After students make it through the immigration process, they can send telegrams back home to their families.
GROWNUPS WERE STUNNED AS HE CHARMED THE SERVER INTO GIVING HIM ICE CREAM WITH SPRINKLES AND HOT FUDGE, ON THE HOUSE!
CHILDREN A M A Z E U S E V E R Y D AY
and at Children’s of Alabama, we want to see every child grow up and live to their fullest potential. That’s why we recruit, train and retain the most inquiring minds, the most skilled hands and the most compassionate hearts in pediatric medicine. 1 6 0 0 7 T H AV E N U E S O U T H B I R M I N G H A M , A L 3 5 2 3 3 ( 2 0 5 ) 6 3 8 - 9 1 0 0
Ice Cream- Valor 7.25 x 4.75 -HomewoodMag 2019.indd 1
ChildrensAL.org
1/30/19 8:35 AM HomewoodLife.com 35
generated a lot of conversation with the students.” And many of them still remember the whole experience today, more than a decade later. Anna Laws is also quick to note that the Immigration Simulation is a staple of the sixth-grade experience in Homewood. Elementary students hear about it from their siblings and friends, and now when people hear that Anna, who attended Shades Cahaba and HMS before graduating from HHS in 2014, is teaching sixth-grade social studies, they often ask her about the Immigration Simulation. “As a sixth grader I was quiet, and the inspection terrified me,” she recalls. “Now being on this side it’s almost a comical experience to see our kids react differently.” And she’s learned the part just like Dave, making the kids jump up and down to see if their feet work. “Some kids really love it and some worry that they won’t do it good enough,” she says. Back when she was in sixth grade, Anna remembers teachers pinching her cheeks before she went into the inspection so she would look healthier. “As a teacher this time I got to do that to a student, so maybe it will stick with them,” she says. But she remembers more than just pinched cheeks too. “I think it makes you realize how special America was at this time that people were willing to go through so much hardship to come to (here),” Anna says. “It resonates with kids that it is a special place and place worth coming.”
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&DRINK
FOOD
READING THE TEA LEAVES How one area couple took a harder look at a local staple and committed to changing how Homewood enjoys its tea. BY ASHLEY KAPPEL PHOTOS BY MARY FEHR HomewoodLife.com 37
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If you bumped into Clint and Rebecca Denson at Seeds Coffee Co., you would think they were a regular Homewood couple enjoying a cup of tea while watching their three kids play in the outdoor garden space out back. But if you asked them even one simple question about tea, you’d know that their passion for what they are drinking, from its growth to its sourcing, is unparalleled. The couple is behind Sachai, a tea company
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named for the word “truth” in Hindi that specializes in quality loose leaf tea from Indian tea gardens, as well as authentic Indian chai. They package loose leaf assam black, bergamot black, peach green, herbal citrus and other loose teas and concentrated chai from West Homewood, right near Seeds, which ties strongly into their story too. When Seeds started up, it needed someone to run the tea program. Clint, a sweet tea aficionado
HomewoodLife.com 39
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born and raised in Mississippi, where his mother is the mayor of their hometown, took the role with two qualifications: “I liked tea from my time in Ghana drinking tea in the morning, and my wife is from India.” “Seeds does direct trade, working directly with farmers,” says Rebecca, who founded Sachai Tea Company alongside Clint. “So we didn’t want to just order tea, we wanted to directly buy tea from India, the second or third largest producer of tea, but we couldn’t ever source it back to India. All the sources were going to Europe.” The duo was frustrated at the seeming dead end. So, when their first children, twin girls, turned one, the couple planned a two-month trip to India to find the source themselves. “Clint and I both love adventure, we thrive in it,” Rebecca says. That statement was more than clear as she described walking through various tea gardens, each of them with a baby strapped to their chests. You could say that Clint and Rebecca are not easily deterred. Their personal story is one of endurance. While they live in the Birmingham area and met at Samford, during their courtship years, Rebecca was studying community development for third world countries, and Clint was traveling back and forth to an orphanage in Ghana, where he worked for two years. “I was in India while Clint was here, or he was in Africa while I was here,” says Rebecca, laughing as she looked back on their time together. Their lessons in persistence paid off, not just in their marriage but also in how they started their tea business.
RIGHT: Rebecca and Clint Denson travelled to India with their twin daughters to source tea for Sachai. Here they are also pictured with their younger son.
HomewoodLife.com 41
Sachai sells loose leaf assam black, bergamot black, peach green, herbal citrus and other loose teas as well as concentrated chai.
“We’ve been to Indonesia and China,” says Rebecca, ticking off a list of their travel destinations, often with the growing family in tow. “India was unique, but the tea industry was exploitative. The companies would reinvest profit in their crop, not their laborers. “We work with farmers who use human labor instead of machine labor. These are skilled people 42 March/April 2019
with at least 10 years (of) experience hand picking the top two leaves in a bud to fill a quota of 150 pounds per day. And for their labors…were paid $3 per day.” The company can then sell that tea, once processed, for up to $1,000. So Clint and Rebecca started looking for small farms, ones that couldn’t afford to figure out how to export their tea and be a voice for them. “How
do we empower the farmer with two acres, who processes his tea fairly, to access the international market?” Rebecca asked. The answer came when they connected with a co-op in India of 20 farmers that is paying more than the standard. “Instead of 10 cents per kilogram, they’re paying 50,” Rebecca says. “This co-op has its own garden, processes HomewoodLife.com 43
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everything organically, and is concerned about the workers and how they live,” she continues. “There are no pesticides, which means no one is breathing them in,” an important note when, as Rebecca notes, “The average life of a tea worker is 45 years due to the daily sprayings.” For Rebecca and Clint, while the initial mission was sourcing tea, the steps to getting there opened their world to the industry around them. “When the farmers told us, ‘It’s our duty to organically farm because we care about the livelihood of our people,” says Clint, “then we can’t not do it.” “Workers have needs, and there’s a never-ending path to filling needs. That can’t be our goal,” says Rebecca. “We have to work to empower farmers to change the culture and the mindset that you can only be an employee of a big tea company.” At present, the couple is working on their importing license. Without it, they must connect with importers or ship directly, which gets expensive quickly, with 300 pounds costing about $1,500 to airship. While the road may be slow, if there’s anyone who can stick it out, it’s Clint and Rebecca. Find Sachai Tea Company teas at Seeds Coffee Co., The Market at Pepper Place and other local retailers, or place an order at sachaiteacompany.com.
HomewoodLife.com 45
TAKE A TASTE
ON BOARD FOR BRUNCH
Photo & Text by Courtney Wright
Grazing boards are all the rage right now, and with good reason. They are elegant, artistic and perfect for a crowd. If you are hosting Easter brunch this year, look no further than a few of our Homewood faves to create a slightly less traditional, but equally special spread for your guests.
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Courtney Wright (@savor_style) creates custom grazing and dessert boards for all occasions, and believes that time spent around the table (or board!) is time well spent.
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1. Round wooden serving board- At Home. 2. Assorted bagels with homemade cream cheese- Homewood Bagel Company. 3. Hot Ham & Swiss Minis - Ashley Mac’s. 4. Orange Rolls- Urban Cookhouse. 5. Pistachio Doughnuts- Hero Doughnuts.
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&STYLE
HOME
A HOME TO KEEP The Lawrences’ house has grown up with them, from college to parenthood and beyond. BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS BY LAUREN USTAD HomewoodLife.com 47
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Maggie Lawrence was only a college sophomore when she bought her three-bedroom house on Crest Lane. Roommates helped her pay her mortgage, and friends from Samford University would often hang out in the basement and sign its “guest book” wall with one of the Sharpies she kept in a bucket. Needless to say, she never thought she’d raise a family there. After college and grad school, Maggie’s roommates moved out, and she married Craig Lawrence. Later came a baby boy and then news of a second. That’s when Maggie and Craig started exploring whether to move or renovate. But they found all the bigger homes they looked at would still require renovation, and when Maggie told one realtor what she liked about her current home, he said finding another like it in Homewood would be like finding a unicorn. So a designer drew plans to maximize their space without building out or up, taking down walls to open up the kitchen and living room. They also called for adding a living area and two bedrooms in the basement to increase the overall square footage from 2,000 to 3,000. While they were getting bids on their plans, Craig and Maggie visited a newly flipped house in Mountain Brook that was on the market and loved it, but it was smaller than their current one—and let’s face it, they didn’t want to leave Homewood. “What if I can just get someone to do this to my current house?” Maggie thought. So she wrote down the contractor’s name, Kevin Misso of River Brook Construction, and gave him a call. It turns out the Lawrences and Kevin and Leigh Misso had many mutual friends and even both attended the Church of
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the Highlands, and Craig and Maggie ended up moving forward with River Brook. Before long, the Lawrences were moving into a rental house and work began. Kevin even allowed the Lawrences to take a hammer to the walls to officially kick off the construction. In addition to the original plans, all windows were replaced, the two existing bathrooms were updated, and a third bedroom was added in the basement, covering the Sharpie guest book walls with sheet rock and shiplap. As an unexpected bonus, layers under the main floor carpet and tile they found original hardwoods they were able to restore. As fate would have it, the Lawrences moved back into their house just days before their second son arrived—at Brookwood Medical Center the same day as Leigh gave birth too. And now, a decade after Maggie first moved in, Crest Lane is where their family is forming new memories.
Basement Maggie wanted this space to have a different feel than the upstairs, so they picked out darker sofas and lighter colored tile that looks like hardwood to brighten up the space. They also kept the ceilings exposed but painted them, and added canned lights.
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Dining Room Barn doors separate the dining room from the play room on the main floor. Maggie got the Park Hill light fixture from Stock and Trade and her table from The Mart in Atlanta. To round out the space, she painted a hutch multicolored to match the other neutral colors in the space.
Kitchen Large pendant lights from Three Sheets in Homewood anchor the newly open bright family kitchen, along with its custom steel vent hood. The same quartzite on the countertops crawls up one wall, while shiplap covers the other. 50 March/April 2019
Master Bedroom To increase their storage space, the Lawrences combined two bedroom closets plus one behind those in their playroom to make one large closet that now is covered with antique doors from Charles Phillips Antiques in Mobile. HomewoodLife.com 51
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Boy’s Room When 2-year-old Banks was an infant, he would reach for the hedgehog stuffed animal, draped over the back of the rocker, and the two were joined at the hip from that point forward. Today Banks has plenty of backup “Hedgys”—and they have become the inspiration for his big boy room décor. Maggie commissioned an artist to create a hedgehog watercolor, and anyone who knows Banks and finds a hedgehog is likely to give him one. He even dressed up as a “Hedgy” for Halloween.
Den A second main floor living space in addition to the living room allows for multiple groups to hang out at once.
HomewoodLife.com 53
Homewood Rotary’s Annual
Play Room
SIDEWALK
CHALK ART
This space behind the living room/kitchen houses toy storage cabinets from Pottery Barn Kids, and its wall showcases a Homewood alphabet poster from the Cottage Basket store in Homewood.
FESTIVAL
Saturday May 4, 2019
8:00 a.m. ‘til 3:00 p.m. Homewood Central Park
$500 for Best of Show $300 for Most Creative $300 for Chairman’s Choice $100 for Best Of Show-Youth Division
BEHIND THE SCENES Interior Design (original plans): EK Interiors Interior Design (customization of plans): River Brook Design
Contractor: River Brook Construction Cabinets: River Brook Construction
Cabinet Hardware: Avondale Specialty Hardware Vent Hood: Frederick Knight
Select Furnishings: At Home, Three Sheets,
Four Seasons Gallery, Stock & Trade, Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn Kids
Chalk Provided! If you or someone you know would like to p please email Brett Richardson brett.p.richardson@gmail.com 54 March/April 2019
Plants & Greenery: Sweet Peas Garden Shop,
ate,
Leaf & Petal
Landscaping: Curb Appeal
AT HOME
the (easy) way to
STYLE A BOOKSHELF Photo & Text By Jessica Clement
When it comes to styling shelves, it’s all about balance, layering and editing. Start off by stacking and placing coffee table books. A little designer tip: keep the book binding colors to three to four: gray, white, black and an accent color. Next, incorporate accessories. Mix natural items, like stone vessels and woven bowls, modern sculpture and antique pieces. Lastly, a bookcase is the perfect spot to showcase art and fun table lamps.
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Jessica Clement is an interior designer and stylist who believes that well-designed interiors should tell the story about the people who live there.
1. Emerald Green Table Lamp- Defining Home, $599. 2. Shell Ring on Stand- Domicile, $69. 3. Handwoven Small Raffia Bowl- Domicile, $29. 4. Antique Wooden Box- Defining Home, $199. 5. Coffee Table Books- Defining Home, $45- $50. 6. Granite Vase- Defining Home, $89. 7. Modern Copper Vases- Domicile, $15 each.
HomewoodLife.com 55
IN STYLE
CASUALLY COOL for spring BY MADISON FREEMAN | PHOTOS BY LAUREN USTAD 1
LOOK 1
1. BUTTON-UP BLOUSE WITH STRIPED SLEEVES
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This casual, light weight top makes a subtle statement on its sleeves. Shoefly | $62
2. ABLE VINTAGE JEANS These jeans are as comfortable as mom jeans, but with a more modern flare. Shoefly | $108
3. HAMMITT CROSSBODY BAG This bag will make a statement this season—and last you a lifetime. Abbeyluxe | $195
Madison is a local fashion, home decor, travel and lifestyle blogger opening her door up for you on insidemyopendoor.com.
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4. SUEDE CHECK LOW WEDGE
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The check pattern on these chunky heels make a subtle yet funky statement. Abbeyluxe | $149
1. WIDE LEGGED STRIPED ROMPER
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This lightweight romper for spring looks awesome with a white or denim jacket. Shoefly | $90
2. DENIM WHITE WASH JACKET Every girl needs a good denim jacket like this one in her closet. Shoefly | $24
3. HAMMITT REVERSIBLE PURSE Wear either side forward with this leather statement bag. Abbeyluxe | $475
4. CHUNKY WHITE WEDGE
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Add a pair of chunky light colored wedges to your spring wardrobe. Abbeyluxe | $162
LOOK 2 4
SPRING MUST HAVES 1. THICK MULTI STRIPE CONNECTED BRACELETS This pink, navy and cream set is perfect to show off once short sleeve weather hits. Theadora | $110
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2. THIN GOLD CIRCLE EARRINGS These statement spheres are worth the splurge. Theadora | $225
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ALABAMA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA’S DIRECTOR TALKS ABOUT MUSIC, HOME AND HOW THE SYMPHONY IS LIKE FOOTBALL. BY MELANIE PEEPLES PHOTOS BY ALABAMA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & CONTRIBUTED
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Berlin to Birmingham isn’t a move many people make, but Venezuelaborn Carlos Izcaray and his wife, Yolanda Serafimov, jumped right in.
And after three years, Carlos says they’re settling right in to the Edgewood community of Homewood. “It’s very different. It’s a tight community,” he says, in a soft, hypnotizing accent that sounds like words rolling of his tongue like water. “It’s gone very nicely,” he says. “We don’t feel like newbies anymore.” In Berlin, he worked as a freelancer conducting all over Europe, wherever the opportunity rose. Then, he was invited to guest conduct the Alabama Symphony Orchestra at just the right time: when the symphony was looking for a new music director, and Carlos and Yolanda were looking to settle down a bit more. They had two daughters at the time, each born in a different country. “It worked kind of nicely, professionally and personally.” Their third child, a boy, was born here, “in Homewood!” he exclaims. And now he’s in his fourth season here, and Alabama is not just his home but his musical family now too. “We’ve gone through a lot here,” he says. And he isn’t kidding. In January of 2017, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Through surgeries and chemotherapy, he kept working, and at the end of it all, just as he was finishing his treatment, Yolanda was diagnosed with breast cancer. He considers themselves lucky to have been here, in such a respectable medical community. “She’s on a trial drug here,” he says. “There’s only a handful of places that offer the type of treatments that she has now, and it’s yielded very good results.” She’s
still being treated, and to add to it, Carlos’ father has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and his mom was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. “We went from nothing to everything at once,” he says. During his own treatments, he says it was music that sustained him. “During the process I was never happier than when I was making music.” THE MAESTRO AT HOME You might think the Izcaray house is always filled with music. But you’d be wrong. Oh, there are days he comes home to find his wife blasting Bon Jovi and playing along on violin, but Carlos says at home there are also times he needs quiet space to decompress. “It’s a noisy place, here,” he says, pointing to his head, where he says there’s always a soundtrack playing. And his personal music tastes (from Renaissance music to the last hit by Zed) are too varied to pin down in one article. He started learning the violin when he was 3, and yes, both his daughters play: one, the violin, the other, the cello. He says Sebastian, who turned 3 in November, will start soon. The son of a conductor (his father) and an arts administrator (his mother), Carlos says he was never forced to play or practice. In fact, although he switched to cello around 9 or 10, it wasn’t until he was in his late teens that he knew music would be his life. He went to high school and college in the HomewoodLife.com 61
Carlos Izcaray is now in his fourth season conducting the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, which often performs at the Alys Stephens Center. OPPOSITE: Today Carlos says there’s no name for the proper technique in holding a baton, but that his looks pretty good in this picture of him, especially for a toddler.
U.S., and after a few years of a professional cellist, he felt the pull of conducting. “There’s too much that I like. That’s why I feel I have to conduct,” he says chuckling. “In a way it’s because there’s so much that I don’t think I could listen to it passively. After a while you want to get your hands dirty.” GETTING HIS HANDS DIRTY For starters, there’s more to conducting than just waving the little stick around. Of course, that’s important, too. The baton keeps all the musicians together, not an easy task when you’re talking about 62 March/April 2019
getting 53 people to play as one. The ASO plays a 40week season, and the music is so varied that the musicians usually only have their first rehearsals around a week before the performance. “With this orchestra and most full-time orchestras, it’s, (Carlos snaps his fingers together three times), it’s like NFL. You know, you get your game and then the next game plan for the next team is different, so it’s back to practice.” He says they only practice together three or four sessions, a couple hours each. “So it’s a very fast process. It’s fast.” You may see Carlos moving his baton, but what you don’t see is all the work that goes into choosing the
CARLOS CONDUCTS BEETHOVEN You can catch all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies this season with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. Here’s when to see them.
THE REVOLUTIONARY:
THE DANCE: BEETHOVEN’S
March 1 & 2, 7 p.m.
May 10 & 11, 7 p.m.
BEETHOVEN’S THIRD SYMPHONY March 11, 11 a.m. THE ICON: BEETHOVEN’S FIFTH SYMPHONY April 5 & 6, 7 p.m.
THE PASTORAL: BEETHOVEN’S SIXTH SYMPHONY
SEVENTH SYMPHONY
CARLOS CONDUCTS BRAHMS, BEETHOVEN, & SCHUMANN May 17 & 18, 7 p.m. THE ODE TO JOY:
BEETHOVEN’S NINTH
May 31 & June 1, 7 p.m.
April 19, 11 a.m.
All concerts take place at the Alys Stephens Center at UAB unless otherwise noted. Find more concert listings and tickets at alabamasymphony.org.
music the musicians will play each night. Carlos composes himself, and he also commissions new works by other musicians. “I try to find ways to break the mold that defines what people feel the genres are.” In November, Carlos says they’ll be doing a concert with the electrical guitarist Steve Vai, whom Carlos calls the “Paganini of electric guitar” and Guitar World magazine voted the 10th greatest guitarist. “And that’s going to be something nobody knows what’s that going to be like because he’s working from his end to be more out of his realm, and we’re working from our end to be more out of our realm. And
whatever people listen to, it’s going to be a whole different thing.” But also this year, some of the most recognizable composers’ works are being performed, including, for the first time, all of Beethoven’s nine symphonies. “Without a doubt that’s gonna be a nice marathon,” he told us before the season started. And while Beethoven’s symphonies might be a good starting point for new classical music lovers, he says it’s also an opportunity for veteran concertgoers to participate in the conversation. “We do pre-concert talks. My concerts are very interactive. I like to stress a few points here and there, things to listen for, some HomewoodLife.com 63
Carlos with his wife, Yolanda Serafimov, and their children Sofia, Alicia and Sebastian.
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historical background.” He likes to place the music into historical context. He says it’s like going to a museum and choosing to use the headphones or a curator to explain points a casual observer wouldn’t catch. “With Beethoven, the reason I’m really looking forward to it is because he had such an epic life himself. Through the symphonies, we can explore different facets of life, like political stuff, like revolution, Napoleon, all the things that were political turmoil of the time. Dealing with his deafness, being deaf, his spiritual side. All these things that if you do just one or two you can only focus on a few aspects, whereas here we can do the totality and see, and people, I think, will appreciate even more why he is such an important figure in history. Not just music.” When Carlos isn’t leading his Birmingham musicians through a marathon or also serving as the music director for the American Youth Symphony of Los Angeles, he enjoys many of the same things about Homewood as everyone else. “I just love the family atmosphere,” he says. “Homewood is so convenient,” he adds. “Even the airport. I arrived last night (from L.A.) and 12 minutes later I was at home.” “We love the dining scene. I’ve gained too many pounds,” he says. “The culinary scene is fantastic.” He also feels the contagious energy of the revitalization of downtown Birmingham and Avondale, which makes him feel like he’s a part of something still growing. Not an ancient city with its story behind it. More like a rich symphony, still being written.
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BUILDERS AND BUYERS
Russell Building Supply 110 Wheat Street • Harpersville, 35078 205-672-2224 • RussellDoitCenter.com At Russell Do it Center and Russell Building Supply stores, you’ll find a complete assortment of lumber, building materials, hardware, electrical and plumbing supplies, paint, tools, and lawn and garden merchandise. Russell Do it Center stores deliver first-class service, top-rate products and competitive Do-it-Best pricing. Russell Do it Center has a proud history of service to customers across Central Alabama. They currently have nine convenient locations to serve you, comprised of six Russell Do it Centers and three Russell Building Supply locations. All locations carry a complete assortment of lumber, building materials, doors, windows, specialty millwork, hardware, tools, plumbing, electrical, paint, lawn and garden, and more for contractors and homeowners. Regardless of which location you may utilize, all of our locations are deeply embedded into the communities that we serve. No matter the job size, Russell Building Supply has you covered.
Fixtures & Finishes 2500 2nd Ave S • Birmingham, AL 35233 205.323.5616 • halley@fixturesandfinishes.com • www.fixturesandfinishes.com Established in 2015, Fixtures & Finishes offers an exclusive collection of well edited plumbing, tile and lighting products for the kitchen and bath. Fixtures & Finishes is locally owned by Mary Louise Choate. It is Alabama’s only Waterworks boutique with a two-story showroom on 2nd Avenue South. Homeowners and designers alike, are able to explore the many vignettes displaying a wide array of plumbing, tile, decorative lighting and hardware. The trained and experienced consultants help clients uncover their style and create a design to match their vision and specifications. Fixtures & Finishes can easily help you with any project large or small. Whether you are remodeling or building a new home we have everything for the kitchen and bath. We welcome you to come browse our inspirational showroom and consider making an appointment to receive individual assistance in your selections. We are open Monday through Friday from 8-5. PHOTO BY JEAN ALLSOPP
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BUILDERS AND BUYERS
A Better Closet 1031 14th Street • Calera, 35040 205-621-1638 • Abettercloset.net • Sales@abettercloset.net A professional design and installation service, A Better Closet delivers custom storage solutions to help organize every room of your home. A Better Closet is a locally owned, family-operated business, and we have been building custom storage for over 30 years. Our designers and craftsmen will transform every area of your home (floor to ceiling) to the custom storage of your dreams – with beautiful, lasting results that are guaranteed over the life of your home. At A Better Closet, exceptional service is built in to the equation. When you schedule a free in-home consultation, we focus on finding the plan that is best for you, because we know your home, family, preferences and needs are unique. A Better Closet wants to maximize every inch of space to increase your home’s storage potential and value. Whether you want to make the most of a walk in closet, custom storage, kitchen pantry or home office, A Better Closet can help.
SouthFirst Mortgage Making Dreams Come True… 6930 Cahaba Valley Road, Suite 202 • Hoover, AL 35242 205-991-5911 • www.southfirst.com SouthFirst Mortgage was established in 1994 as a residential construction lending office as a division of SouthFirst Bancshares Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SouthFirst Bank with offices in Sylacauga, Talladega, Clanton, Birmingham and our newest office, Alexander City. SouthFirst Mortgage offers a wide range of loan products to the needs of various buyers. We have the flexibility of a portfolio lender for a “common sense” loan file to fit your unique needs. We offer a variety of product options and excellent rates to our borrowers through our in-house products and the many investors we have correspondent relationships with.
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BUILDERS AND BUYERS
Urban Home Market 1001 Doug Baker Blvd #101 • Birmingham, AL 35242 (205) 980-4663 • urbanhomemarket.com At Urban Home Market, we offer unique home furnishings that will inspire you to express your personality within your home. Our range of styles include everything from rustic flare to classic elegance. While shopping, check out our Market Place where you can find specialty boutique items such as clothing and accessories. Our degreed interior designers are accomplished and dedicated; each having over twenty years of experience in residential and commercial design. The designers work with clients to achieve a shared vision that fosters creativity and delivers results that exceed our client’s expectations. We are a locally family owned business that takes pride in offering programs that support new home owners as well as other local designers and realtors. Shop Urban Home Market and let us help you make your house a home!
MCJ Company Interiors 2717 2nd Ave S • Birmingham, AL 35233 (205) 458-2700 Margaret Jones’ upscale design shop, MCJ Company Interiors, on 2nd Ave S provides both clients and designers with a place to explore unique products that are not available just anywhere. Her industry relationships provide the total experience. Her relationship with TCS Furniture makes it possible for people to sit on the actual furniture rather than ordering from a picture. Loyal designers like Mark Kennamer Designs have contributed to the success of MCJ Company Interiors. Margaret has worked as a buyer and as a designer so she can see and understand the needs of the designer and client as she has insight into both. She still works as a designer and loves being able to communicate with people that do and do not have a designer, helping to design a space the clients will truly love.
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BUILDERS AND BUYERS
Cahaba Glass 160 Chandalar Place Drive • Pelham, 35124 205-621-7355 • Cahabaglassco.com • Cahabaglass@hotmail.com Cahaba Glass is your ultimate resource for any automotive, residential and small commercial glass needs. For the home, we specialize in the installation of custom shower enclosures, mirrors, glass shelving, furniture top glass, cabinet door glass and specialty glass. Our glazier will replace unsightly window units and patio door glass to give your home that “like new” look. If your small commercial building needs updating, we offer a full range of glass and architectural products to meet your needs. Our experienced staff will assist you with your automobile insurance claims to make the necessary repairs or replacements due to breakage. When you choose Cahaba Glass Company, you are choosing a proven leader in the glass business. Let us help you make your project shine!
DSLD Land Management Design Build Landscape 1178 Dunnavant Valley Rd • Birmingham, AL 35242 205-437-1012 • www.dsldland.com • dsldsocialmedia@gmail.com DSLD Land Management is a family owned and operated full service design/build landscape contractor serving the Birmingham area for over 30 years. DSLD welcomes projects of any scope and size, and stands ready to serve our clients with one of Alabama’s most credentialed professional staffs. We also employ a dedicated and experienced field service team with all requisite trades on board. Full Service Landscaping: We take care of everything – landscape design, installation and construction. We strive to exceed your expectations. We achieve that through careful planning, setting clear expectations, and providing excellent all-inclusive service. We Always Listen to You: We listen to you from initial consultation through build out. We understand that every customer has a unique area and ideas for creating an amazing outdoor space. HomewoodLife.com 69
BUILDERS AND BUYERS
Vulcan Pest Control 115 Commerce Drive • Pelham Alabama 35124 205.663.4200 • www.vulcantermite.com Protect your most valuable assets! Don’t let termites cause destruction on your property – get them gone quickly with professional termite pest control. If you’re looking for the best termite company in Central Alabama you’ve found it. Vulcan’s Termite Division has over 120 years of combined experience providing commercial and home termite treatment. Our staff works diligently to provide inspections and necessary reports in a timely manner so the stress of buying or selling your home is minimized. Schedule your FREE termite inspection today! One of our termite exterminators can evaluate the situation and suggest the best treatment method.
Holcombe Doors and Windows 120 Atchison Dr • Chelsea, AL 35043 205-509-4547 In 1993, Holcombe Doors and Windows opened our showroom to respond to the need for efficient and effective doors and windows. We offer assistance with the selection and proper installation of our products for residential and commercial renovations, additions and new construction projects. We install our products so we can take care of your project from start to finish. Our main window and door lines are Sierra Pacific, Loewen and Kolbe. Windows are available in a wide variety of colors, configurations and materials. We also sell a high-end Poplar interior door and moulding line manufactured by Koetter Woodworking. Interior and exterior doors are available in a multitude of styles, sizes and finishes. Whether you are seeking products that are historically accurate, conventional, or contemporary, Holcombe is proud to be a part of your projects and to help you add to the value, comfort and security of your new or renovated home or business. 70 March/April 2019
New Showroom now Open
THE MEAL MAVENS BY MADOLINE MARKHAM | PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED
Many of our friends and neighbors who fluently speak the language of baking and basting are quick to count a wooded campus off lakeshore drive as vital to their journeys in the world of food. Within its three glass-walled buildings they tested recipes, wrote or filmed tales of barbecue and biscuits, and formed lifelong friendships while working for national brands like Southern Living, Cooking LIght, Southern Accents, Coastal Living, Cottage Living, Health, Oxmoor House Books, Myrecipes. com and Food & Wine.
Over the years many of them have taken their talents beyond the publishing world of what is now Meredith Corporation (formerly Southern Progress Corporation and Time Inc.) to transform our city with their creativity and business acumen in innovative ways. Here we highlight a few of those folks who are making waves in the world of food. They are all quick to sing the praises of their season in magazine work and all it taught them—and all the more so that of all of the people they worked with.
MARY DRENNEN AND TIFFANY VICKERS DAVIS NOW: CO-FOUNDERS OF NOURISH THEN: COOKING LIGHT TEST KITCHEN PROFESSIONAL, 2004-2009 (MARY); COOKING LIGHT TEST KITCHEN PROFESSIONAL & DIRECTOR, 2001-2014 (TIFFANY)
Photo by Rob Culpepper
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Mary and Tiffany first became friends testing recipe after healthy recipe for home cooks for Cooking Light magazine. They didn’t know then that they’d still be working in the kitchen—and running their own business—a decade and a half later. “We had no idea (Nourish) was the foundation we were building,” Mary says today. The duo had started their own catering company while they were still at Cooking Light, and after Mary left to start a food delivery company that delivered to Iron Tribe locations, she brought Tiffany, who calls Homewood home, on board to start their own brand, Nourish. Today the food delivery business employs about 40 people and delivers 4,000-6,000 meals per week. About 60 percent of their clients are in Birmingham, and another 40 are spread throughout the country. “We provide healthy meals that are more convenient than cooking yourself,” Tiffany says. “We utilize the same skill set of developing healthy recipes of familiar
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foods. There was a lot of development possibility then and there is now.” Nourish’s strongest base is in the Southeast, and their menus are planned accordingly. Customers especially love their Shrimp & Grits made with cauliflower grits, and their Stuffed Sweet Potato with pulled pork, bacon and a homemade dairy-free ranch. “We love to use the Southern flare and are from the South,” Tiffany says. “We (also) focus our efforts in the Southeast because we feel like our food appeals most to a Southern palette and it’s most cost-efficient to get it to them.” Above all, their niche comes from their background not as business people (though they’ve learned that too) but as chefs and test kitchen professionals. “We understand the food and product,” Tiffany says. “Our menu changes weekly, and you might not see the same item for six weeks. We want to engage them with different flavors and recipes.”
SCOTT JONES NOW: HEAD OF CONTENT FOR EMEALS THEN: ASSISTANT FOOD EDITOR & FOOD EDITOR & EXECUTIVE EDITOR FOR SOUTHERN LIVING, 1999-2010
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Scott fondly recalls his role as food editor at Southern Living Photo by Lindsey Culver (and the first male to hold that title in the magazine’s then 50-plus-year history) sending him to meet a second-generation shrimper and his family in South Louisiana. There he came to understand the shrimper’s culture and cooking traditions to share in the pages of the magazine. “It encapsulated everything I loved about my job there, which was meeting Southerners and people doing fantastic things with food,” he recalls. Although his current job doesn’t send him to interview shrimpers, in other ways the vision longtime Southern Living John Floyd explained to Scott when he interviewed for a job at the magazine in 1999 wasn’t all that different from when he interviewed with Forrest Collier, CEO of eMeals, more than a decade later. “It’s taking my passion and expertise around food and wine and entertaining and delivering that in a context that’s meaningful to real people and real home kitchens,” Scott explains. The main difference is favorite grocery stores.” simply that the eMeals, a recipe subscription Scott still thinks back often on what he learned service, is digital instead of print. from folks at Southern Living too. “My time working Today Scott heads up a team of recipe developers, with John Floyd was critical in shaping the way I many of them former Southern Progress editors viewed the importance of understanding your and test kitchen professionals, to create 15 different audience,” he says. “The same unwavering styles of menu plans each week for eMeals. “It’s still dedication to the needs of the audience (is the same helping people who hate hearing, ‘What’s for as) here the subscribers of meal plans. That was dinner?’ at 5:00 with simple recipes that give them something that John tried to stress at every level healthy nutritious meals,” he says, only they are and pressed into me as a foundational element: also “linking in next generation ways so people can Always remember the reader and meet them where activate through delivery and pickup at their they are.” HomewoodLife.com 73
JULIE GRIMES NOW: BLACK SHEEP KITCHEN OWNER THEN: SOUTHERN LIVING COOKING SCHOOL, COOKING LIGHT & SOUTHERN LIVING FREELANCER AND SENIOR FOOD EDITOR, 1998-2015
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Julie Grimes started her career in food in New York City, where she Photo by Patrick McGough attended culinary school and worked at Union Square Café. “It was very stuffy and restaurantdriven in the New York food scene,” she recalls. Then she came South, closer to her Texas roots, though, and replaced her customers with the readers of Southern Living and Cooking Light magazines, where she developed and tested recipes and wrote and edited food stories. “I had to learn to shape my recipe development and my food framework to be geared not so much for a restaurant audience or heavy foodie but more in terms of what people are doing to go eat on a Wednesday night—things people actually cook at home and put on their dinner table,” she says. And so when she opened her gourmet take-out food store in Crestline Village in 2015, Julie knew those recipes, too, should be grounded in familiarity. “In a restaurant you are paying for an experience and things you wouldn’t do at home,” she explains. “When you eat a home, people tend to make things they if everyone at my house will like it. I draw on that are familiar with because, like I am at my house, you lesson every day here in this business.” are trying to please a range of food preferences.” Since leaving the magazines, Julie has seen the That’s why you’ll find Chicken Pot Pie, Pork and network of former magazine staff at work too, and Grits, and casseroles on her menu at Black Sheep it’s carried to multiple generations. One of her staff Kitchen—all with a new twist in what Julie hopes is members is the son of one of her former magazine the best version of the dish her customers have had. colleagues, and she keeps in close touch with Mary “Every bit of that goes back to working at Southern Drennen and Tiffany Vickers Davis at Nourish, who Living and Cooking Light for years,” she says. “When have also hired the son of a former magazine team I first started off, I wanted to introduce new member. “It’s been amazing to me how deep the ties ingredients, but I learned it’s more important to bind (are),” she says. “We all keep up with each other make a good solid dish that won’t be a gamble to see and encourage each other.”
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MARK DRISKILL NOW: ASH OWNER & EXECUTIVE CHEF THEN: TIME INC. FOOD STUDIOS COORDINATOR AND RECIPE TESTER AND DEVELOPER, 2016-2018
Photo by Emma Simmons
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When Mark started at Time Inc., he already had earned his chops as sous chef at Highlands Bar and Grill and kitchen manager at Bottega Café to be a kitchen manager, and he had helped open Brick & Tin in Mountain Brook. But that didn’t mean he didn’t learn a ton at Time. Inc. as he helped open and run their then-new Food Studios that brought together the test kitchens into a hub for all the magazine brands in 2015. Along the way he got to develop food articles on subjects like ribs or crab for Southern Living, watching as his ideas were cooked and photographed and came out in print. More so than his restaurant tenure, that world of magazines exposed Mark to a wide range of cuisines and chefs and trends, as well as the difference between a home recipe and a chef recipe. “When you write recipes that are tested and scrutinized, you start to understand amounts better,” he says. “We would joke that chefs are the worst recipe writers, and you’d have to translate what they were doing inside their kitchen where they don’t really measure.” All that exposure
was a major player when Mark opened his own restaurant, Ash, across from Patriot Park in West Homewood, in the summer of 2018. Their grilled Brussels sprouts—on trend with what he was seeing in the magazines—sell even more than Fried Green Tomatoes. And instead of firing up the grill for Southern Living now, he uses his wood fire technique for dishes like their burger and top-selling Barbecue Chicken and Grits. “The wood fired experience tries to keep the food simple and let it speak for itself, but it presents it in a way that preserves the ingredients as much as possible even when it goes over fire,” he says. His work with social media managers for the full suite of Time Inc. brands—Southern Living, Coastal Living, Food & Wine, People, Health, Real Simple and MyRecipes—also taught him the importance of not just posting to social media but in creating high quality content that has fueled how he has marketed his restaurant. “We get followers from Australia or the UK with the right hashtag,” he says. HomewoodLife.com 75
JAN JACKS POTTER NOW: DREAMCAKES OWNER THEN: TEST KITCHEN PROFESSIONAL & FOOD STYLIST FOR OXMOOR HOUSE, SOUTHERN LIVING, COOKING LIGHT AND SOUTHERN ACCENTS, 1998-2005
Photo by Lindsey Culver
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Jan has never been a stranger to kitchens. As she tested recipes daily for national magazines, she always gravitated toward baking and desserts, and soon was baking cakes on the side for coworkers and then as a business. She’d also started decorating cakes when her kids were young—and then it “took over her life,” she says. That’s when she decided to make cakes a business of her own full-time. “It was a tough choice because I loved working (at Southern Progress), and the people were great,” she says. “If you like to cook, it was the dream job of course because that’s all we did all day long.” The magazine world was not just about cooking but about presentation and styling too—a skill set Jan brought with her to her bakery. “You learn to have an eye for detail and make things look beautiful, so when I started Dreamcakes, a lot of
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attention was paid to not only how good it should taste (but what it looks like too). I always say you taste with your eyes first. We also came up with catchy names of our cupcakes reminiscent of a catchy name of a recipe.” Today Dreamcakes still makes it home on Oxmoor Road adjacent to Saw’s BBQ, started by another former Southern Progress test kitchen professional, Mike Wilson. There her staff bakes up countless cakes and cupcakes—for weddings, birthdays, gender reveals and more. They also create special cakes for O’Henry’s and one for each baby that is born at Brookwood Hospital. Through it all, Jan has been no stranger to her old stomping grounds, as she has written two cookbooks, one on cupcakes and one on pies, for Southern Progress/Time. Inc.’s book publishing division, Oxmoor House.
HOLLEY GRAINGER NOW: REGISTERED DIETICIAN + BLOGGER AT CLEVERFUL LIVING THEN: OXMOOR HOUSE ASSISTANT FOOD EDITOR, SOUTHERN LIVING FOOD ASSISTANT FOOD EDITOR, MYRECIPES.COM & COOKINGLIGHT.COM FOOD EDITOR, 2002-2013
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A dietician by training, Holley Photo by Carli Best started her career like many at Southern Progress, behind the pages of Weight Watchers and Cooking Light cookbooks, and later healthy living columns and recipes for Southern Living. But then she discovered the camera, and not too many years later she’d been on more than 600 “Dinner Tonight” videos for MyRecipes.com, the hub website for all the Southern Progress brands. All along she was working with recipes and food photography, but the more she did camera work, the more she became a spokesperson for the publishing company’s brands, flying from coast to coast with her crockpot and appearing on the Today Show, CBS Early Show, Fox and Friends, and TBS Movie and a Makeover. Today her work is similar, only she works for herself under the brand Cleverful Living. More than 28,000 people follow @holleygrainger on Instagram for her #healthylittlelunchbox ideas along with other tips for food and family and fun. “It’s me just trying to share what (my family is) doing, the good times and bad times, lunch box or meal wins and fails, parenting ups and downs,” she says. And her audience as a mom and dietician is one that national brands want to reach too, which feeds into her other professional role as a spokesperson, video talent, recipe developer and blogger and more for food brands and organizations like McCormick spices, Egglands’s Best Eggs and the National Dairy Council.
And in it all she has the flexibility to spend more time with her daughters Ellie and Frances and invite them to take part of her work on camera. “We do a lot of Facebook lives and they have fun being in the kitchen with me and being on camera with me,” Holley says. “They see what Mommy does and are learning more about food and becoming more comfortable in the kitchen–and trying to become more adventurous eaters.” HomewoodLife.com 77
AMANDA STOREY NOW: JONES VALLEY TEACHING FARM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THEN: SOUTHERN LIVING INTERN, HEALTH MAGAZINE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT & ASSISTANT EDITOR, COOKING LIGHT MARKETING COORDINATOR/MANAGER, 2001-2008
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Much of Amanda’s work for Photo by Cary Norton Southern Progress brands was spent travelling all over the country, meeting people and exploring “incredible initiatives.” For a Fit House that Cooking Light built, part of her job was exploring a farming community outside Atlanta called Serenbe. On the West Coast she got to see unique food bank programs, green initiatives and other nonprofits doing “big things.” “I thought, ‘Gosh, that was really cool! Why aren’t’ we doing that in Birmingham?’ But we were but I didn’t know it,” she recalls. And then when she was laid off from Southern Progress in 2008, Amanda started to explore her backyard in Birmingham in new ways. Pretty quickly she called up Edwin Marty, a former garden editor at Southern Living who had started Jones Valley Urban Farm, and began to volunteer for them and do marketing work in exchange for a box of food. She went on to work for the Community Food Bank and United Way of Central Alabama before becoming Jones Valley’s curriculum through culinary arts. “We use the executive director in 2015, all along using the power of growing food as a foundation for know-how she learned working in editing and learning and growing as young people,” Amanda marketing magazines she credits for her says. subsequent work. Amanda considers herself less of a gardener Today she’s running a nonprofit that has than an advocate for the “culture of food and become a national model for folks from all over what it does for communities and for the country call her about. Most people are friendships”—now with a passion for creating familiar with Jones Valley’s 3-acre teaching farm more equitable access to good food. But the in downtown Birmingham, but they also run six know-how she learned answering reader letters teaching farms on Birmingham City Schools with gardening questions as an intern at Southern campuses that implement standards-based Living certainly doesn’t hurt either.
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LEIGH SLOSS-CORRA NOW: THE MARKET AT PEPPER PLACE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THEN: SPC DIGITAL VIDEO STUDIO DIRECTOR & TIME INC. LIFESTYLE VIDEO GROUP EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, 2007-2015
Photo by Leisa Cole
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At the start of Leigh’s tenure at what was then Southern Progress Corporation, her team’s goal was to produce 100 videos in a year for Southern Living, Cooking Light, Health, Oxmoor House and MyRecipes.com. Eight years later, they were producing 1,200 videos a year for those brands plus Food & Wine and Travel & Leisure. “We created content that was really beautiful and impactful,” Leigh says. “Our ‘how to make a cauliflower pizza crust’ how-to video on YouTube got like 40 million views, which was absolutely insane and thrilling.” After all, only a year or two beforehand they’d been happy to get a couple of thousands views on a video. Along the way, Leigh had interacted a lot with the food world, so when she later came on board with the Market at Pepper Place, she already knew what farmers were producing in the South. For her producing a market is not unlike producing a weekly show. As the market’s executive producer of sorts, on Saturday mornings you’ll find her making sure the
chef doing the cooking demonstration is being taken care of, and that a special guest like Andrew Zimmern gets to meet all the right people. She also still exercises her muscles as a storyteller on digital communication platforms and in fundraising. Under Leigh’s leadership, the market season has been extended to year round except for winter holidays, and they have started a grant-funded program with SNAP that allows market vendors to accept food stamps. And through it all she gets to meet people at the forefront of new directions and “to experience the agony and ecstasy when people start these new businesses,” Leigh says. But, perhaps best of all, she gets to intersect with the “network of incredibly high caliber people” she worked with at SPC/Time Inc. Some of them—like food stylist Anna Kelly who owns sheep’s milk farm Dayspring Dairy and recipe developer Laura Zapalowski who owns Homewood Gourmet with her husband—are guaranteed to be there week after week, too. HomewoodLife.com 79
Homewood Chamber of Commerce C O N N E C T I O N S
The Homewood Chamber of Commerce Honors Outstanding Businesses and Volunteers at 2018 Annual Meeting
Happenings Tuesday, March 19
March Membership Luncheon Sponsored by The Lakeshore Foundation and featuring Guest Speaker Tony Cooper of the Jimmie Hale Mission 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. The Club
Friday, April 12
Document Shredding & Electronics Recycling! 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Homewood Public Library Back Parking Lot
Saturday, April 13
Hop ‘n Shop 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Downtown Homewood
Tuesday, April 17th
Annual Excellence in Education and April Membership Luncheon Sponsored by Homewood Life 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. The Club
Our 2018 Annual Meeting and December Membership Luncheon was a great way to end our successful year! A special thank you to our luncheon sponsor, VIVA Health, and to our Economic Development panelists: Emily Jerkins (Birmingham Business (From left to right): 2019 Chamber Board President, Floresha Alliance), Doug Neil (Daniel Watkins Boyd ; Outgoing Board Member Mike Brandt; Business of the Year winner Dan Starnes, owner of Starnes Media; Rising Communities), and Lindsay Star winner Dave Horn, owner of Soho Social ; Ambassador of the Year winner Rhett McCreight of Homewood Life Magazine ; and Puckett (Regional Planning Outgoing Board President Kelly Moore Commission of Greater Birmingham). Also, congratulations to the winners of our 2018 Awards: Business of the Year: Starnes Media (publisher of the The Homewood Star), Rising Star: SoHo Social Homewood, and Community Patriot: fab’rik! We were also thrilled to honor Rhett McCreight of Homewood Life with the Ambassador of the Year Award, as well as Mike Brandt and Walter Brown for Distinguished Service to the Homewood Chamber Board. Thanks for another wonderful year, Homewood!
Mark’s Joint Ribbon Cutting Friday, January 18 2846 18th St S
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Save The Date - May 4
For more information and the day’s itinerary, please visit www. homewoodparks.com.
HOMEWOOD, ALABAMA 35209
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Mayor Delivers 2019 State of the City Address at January Membership Luncheon
New Member Spotlight Ash
www.ashhomewood.com As always, City of Homewood Mayor Scott McBrayer did an outstanding job giving his Annual State of the City Address at our January Membership Luncheon sponsored by America’s First Federal Credit Union on Tuesday, January 15! Along with updating the city on the happenings of the past year and looking ahead to 2019, the following awards were presented: Brian Jones was honored as the Firefighter of the Year, Sgt. Chris Morgan was honored as the Police Officer of the Year, and The Homewood Public Library’s Rose Canady was honored as the City Employee of the Year. Congratulations to all our award winners!
Battle Republic
www.battlerepublic.com
Big Spoon Creamery
www.bigspooncreamery.com
Byars|Wright Insurance www.byarswright.com
Edgewood Creamery Find them on Facebook!
Farm Bowl + Juice Co.
www.farmbowlandjuiceco.com
Friends of Shades Creek www.shadescreek.org
Kingfisher Signs & Graphics Find them on Facebook!
Mark’s Joint
www.marksjoint.com
Save The Date
MXP Global, LLC
www.mxpgobal.com
National Tree Service, Inc. www.nationaltreeservice.com
St. Martin’s In The Pines www.stmartins.ws
For more information, please visit www.homewoodchamber.org.
205 - 871 - 5631
Two Men and a Truck
www.twomenandatruck.com
WWW.HOMEWOODCHAMBER.ORG HomewoodLife.com 81
OUT & ABOUT
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A RED PLAID SHIRT PHOTOS BY JAMES CULVER
Homewood Theatre presented the play A Red Plaid Shirt at The Dance Foundation in January, with an opening reception held on Jan. 10. 1. Duane Shroyer, Laura McCain, Guy and Phella Patterson 2. Zack Benjamin and Madison Hall 3. Kyle Bass and Carol Reamey 4. Howard Green, Debbie Smith, Lori Edwards and Kyle Bass
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5. Linda Wurstner and Selena Stalker 6. Ben Habert and Robin Rushing 7. Julie Meadows, Misty Wade and Mark Stalker 8. Karen Fowler, Leslie Moon and Beth Wilson 9. Autumn Brown and Sarah Steeley
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I strive to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am. Animal Hospital, Veterinary Care, Boarding & Grooming 2810 19th Place South, Homewood, AL 35209 StandiferAnimalClinic.com 82 March/April 2019
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OUT & ABOUT
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SALAMANDER FESTIVAL
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PHOTOS BY JAMES CULVER
The Friends of Shades Creek held their annual festival on Jan. 26 to mark the migration of the spotted salamander. 1. Tallulah Fuller, Susan Augustine, and Leigh and Rose Lewis 2. Penny Harris and Stuart the Snake 3. Kim and Tyler Botters 4. Henry, Pete and Harrison Blankenhorn 5. Shelby and Todd Starling 6. Mia Mayo and Anna Bashinsky 7. Adam, Max, Konrad and Jessica Hogel 8. Jenna, Colin and Avery Campbell 9. Niki Sutton and Ty Grant 10. Audrey, Lilly and Dylan Reeves 11. Haley Nesmaith, Averly and Drew Lankford
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TICKETS ARE
$40
($45 at the door)
AND INCLUDES 2 DRINK TICKETS AND FOOD! 11
Visit "Homewood Rotary Club St. Patrick’s Event 2019" on Facebook for more information and tickets. Proceeds benefit Homewood High School students.
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OUT & ABOUT
TASTE OF HOMEWOOD
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PHOTOS BY JAMES CULVER
Rosewood Hall was filled with the best eats of Homewood for the annual Chamber of Commerce event on Jan. 31. 1. John Bresnan, Brandon Broadhead, Walter Jones and Sharon Jones 2. Mayor Scott McBrayer and Lauren Tanner 3. Mike and Lisa Higgenbotham
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4. Fannie Edison, Amy Youngblood and Lee Stockton 5. Sonny Willis and Ginny Jones 6. Lynn and Ayoki Tolbert 7. Jennifer, Ben and Chad Crowson 8. Dr. Ron, Lisa and Louise McBeth 9. Michael Brown, Katie Gibson and Amy Gibson
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TASTE. SIP. REPEAT. Restaurants & Chefs, Wine, Craft Beer, Cocktails, Seminars & Special Tastings 22nd annual | April 27 & 28 | 12-3pm | Linn Park @ the 36th annual Magic City Art Connection
HOOVER’S VESTAVIA HILLS TICKETS: www.CorksandChefs.com MOUNTAIN BROOK
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MARKETPLACE
Marketplace Homewood Life • 205.669.3131
Acceptance Loan Company. Personal Loans! Let us pay off your title loan! 224 Cahaba Valley Road, Pelham. 205663-5821
Need appliance or air conditioner parts? How about a water filter for your refrigerator? We have it all at A-1 Appliance Parts! Call 1-800-841-0312 www.A-1Appliance.com INDUSTRIAL ATHLETES $17.68 hour + production & safety $$$ incentives. Grocery order selection using electric pallet jacks & voice activated headsets. Apply online at AGSOUTH.COM or call Charlie Seagle at (205) 808-4833 Preemployment drug test required. Automation Personnel Services Hiring IMMEDIATELY For: Automotive Assembly, General Labor, Production, Clerical, Machine Operator, Quality, Carpentry, Welder, Foundry. Positions In: Calera, Clanton, Pelham, Bessemer, McCalla. Walk-in applications accepted. Clanton (205)280-0002. Pelham (205)444-9774. Bama Concrete Now Hiring: Diesel Mechanic 4 Years Minimum Experience. CDL Preferred. Competitive Pay. Great Benefits. Apply in person: 2180 Hwy 87 Alabaster, 35007 Bent Creek Apartments. Affordable 1 and 2 Bedroom. On-site Manager. On-site
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Maintenance. 3001 7th Street. North Clanton, AL 35045. TDD#s: 800548-2547(V) 800-5482546(T/A) bentcreek@ morrowapts.com Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am4pm. Equal Opportunity Provider/Employer Boise Cascade Now Hiring for Utility Positions. Starting pay $13.33/hour. Must be able to pass background screen. Please apply at www.bc.com Carroll Fulmer Now Hiring Class-A CDL Drivers. Over-the-road positions available. Dry vans. No hazmat. Must have one year over-theroad. Experience and a clean MVR. Competitive pay and bonus package. Good home time. Call 800-633-9710 ext. 2 Church Transportation and Logistics, Inc Now Hiring Birmingham, AL based Transportation Company looking for Class-A CDL-Drivers •Average 22,500/mileswk •Must be at least 23yrs-old•Starting pay at .43/mile increase to .45 in 6-months•18-months driving exp. Call:205925-1977 Ext:2309 or Email: recruiting@ churchtransportation.net NOW HIRING!!! •Director, Pharmacy Services •Director, Material Management •RN-ER RFT 7pm-7am •RN-ICU RFT 7pm-7am Email resume to: Blaine.Green@cvhealth. net or go to www. cvhealth.net EEO Employer M/F/D/VDrugfree-Workplace
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DCH Health System Caring. For Life. $5,000 *Sign-on Bonus for full time RNs *For More Info Contact Annie. Miller@dchsystem.com. Apply online at: www. dchsystem.com REPLACEMENT WINDOW SALE!!! Any Size Double Hung Window up to 101 UI $238 Basic Installation EcoViewWindows.com Visit Our Showrooms 836 S.Hull St. Montgomery,AL 334-676-3001 40 E.Commerce Dr. Pelham,AL 205-564-8480 $2000 SIGN ON BONUS NEW PAY SCALE TO QUALIFYING DRIVERS EVERGREEN TRANSPORT, is accepting applications for local drivers in the Calera and Leeds, AL, area. Must have Class A CDL, good driving record, 1 yr verifiable tractor trailer experience. Good pay and benefits. Apply in person at 8278 Hwy 25 South, Calera, AL, or call for info 205-668-3316. MECHANICS NEEDED Evergreen Transport LLC has two immediate openings for Class B Mechanics at its terminal in Calera, AL. One for night shift and one for day shift. Call Jason at 205-668-3316. Job duties include repairing, maintaining and overhauling of heavy duty fleet truck/trailers and other tasks assigned by supervisor.
Now Hiring Heavy Equipment Operators and CDL Drivers Competitive pay and benefits. Pre-employment drug test required Equal Employment Opportunity Employer Call: 205-2986799 or email us at: jtate@ forestryenv.com Franklin Iron Works Now Hiring. Grinders & Laborers. Must apply in person: 146 Tommie Drive, Thorsby. Mon-Fri. 10am-3pm. DRIVERS Hanna Truck Lines is seeking Professional Flatbed Drivers. 53 cpm No surprises: Starting pay (all miles): 51 cpm, 52 cpm at 6 months, 53 cpm at 1 year. 100% Outbounds loads Pre-loaded & Tarped. 75% Inbound No Tarp. Late Model Peterbilt Trucks. Air Ride Trailers. Home weekends. Low cost BCBS Health & Dental Ins. Matching 401K. Qualifications: 18 months Class A CDL driving experience with 6 months flatbed; Applicants must meet all D.O.T. requirements. Contact recruiting at 1-800-634-7315 or come by HTL office at 1700 Boone Blvd, Northport. EOE Housing Authority of the Birmingham District Hiring: Homeownership Lease-Purchase Facilitator Resident Services Coordinator-ROSS Human Resources Specialist Compliance Data Analysis Application Data Entry Clerk Assistant Vice President of Housing Operations
Director of Public Safety Custodian View complete description and apply at www.habd.org or 1826 3rdAvenueSouth Birmingham, Al 35233 NOW AVAILABLE LPN’s, RN’s 12 HOUR SHIFTS CNA’s Full-time & part-time Apply in person: Hatley Health Care 300 Medical Center Drive Clanton, AL 35045 Health Services, Inc. Clanton Family Health 107 Medical Center Dr Clanton,AL 35045 Current Opening: •Patient Account Representative •Medical Assistant •LPN Unit Coordinator Helping Hands Estate Sales Serving clients over 7yrs Professional & Experienced We can help sell the contents of your home! Contact for information: 256-2835549 tbob56.wixsite.com/ helping-hands Industrial Coatings Group, Inc. is hiring experienced -Sandblasters -Industrial Painters - Helpers. Must be able to pass drug test and e-verify check. Must be willing to travel. Professional references required. Please send resume to: icgsecretary@ hotmail.com or call (205)688-9004
MARKETPLACE Jefferson State Community College Intent to Employ PartTime Instructors -Daytime English Instructor -Nighttime Speech Instructor - Nighttime Biology Instructor. Please visit www.jeffersonstate. edu to view qualifications or to obtain application forms. Jefferson State Community College Human Resources, 2601 Carson Road, Birmingham AL 35215 Phone: 205856-7764 or 205-8567899 EOE Owner Operators Wanting Dedicated Year Round Anniston, AL www.pull4klb.com SHEETMETAL & MANUFACTURING HELP WANTED •Sheetmetal/ Layout •Manufacturing Helpers •Sheetmetal Machinery Operators Multiple positions Paid holidays, typical shifts are 6:00am-2:30pm Must be reliable & on-time Call RICK: 205-644-9633 Need FREE help with your Medicare? Call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) today at (800)AGE-LINE (800)-243-5463. M&M Trucking Company hiring experienced trailer and tractor trailer drivers. Minimum three years verifiable experience required. Tanker and dump experience a plus. Apply in person w/MVR at M&M Trucking Company. 980 Lee Road. Auburn, AL 36830. Now Hiring!! •Caregivers-ADL’s, assist with medications and some lifting 7am-3pm, 3pm-11pm, 11pm-7pm •Activity Director PartTime •Cooks-some 12/ hr shifts Call Shay McNeal 205-620-2905
Marble Valley Manor. Affordable 1 and 2 Bedroom Apartments for Elderly & Disabled. Many on-site services! 2115 Motes Rd, Sylacauga. 256-245-6500 •TDD#s: 800-548-2547(V) •800548-2546(T/A). Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am4pm. Equal Opportunity Provider/Employer Are you a motivated professional? Are you looking for a dynamic career? Are you ready to control your own level of success? See why McKinnons’ is an exciting place to work and grow. Now accepting applications for Sales, Service, and Detail Shop. Apply with the receptionist. 205-7553430 Shake up your career!!! Are you looking for something new and FUN? Milo’s is always looking for great managers to come join our growing and dynamic team. Apply online at miloshamburgers.com Montgomery Stockyard Drop Station at Gray & Son’s in Clanton. Call Lane at 205-3894530. For other hauling arrangements, contact Wes in Harpersville 205965-8657 MOUNT HOME BUILDERS, INC. Build on your lot custom homes! Our plans or yours! Visit www.mounthomebuilder. com for price quotes and to see completed homes & homes under construction! 205-2990114 Production Jobs. Willing to Train. AAM in Columbiana is HIRING for multiple shifts. Email resume to dcurtis@grede. com or apply in person: 130 Industrial Pkwy, Columbiana, AL 35051
NOW HIRING Class-A CDL Driver Must have clean driving record, two years experience Will train drivers on tank Drivers home nightly Contact Keith at: 205-438-4959 INDUSTRIAL CLEANING IN VANCE Requirements: •18 Years Old •HS Diploma/GED •Able to work variable shifts/ weekends/holidays •Able to lift up to 50lbs constantly, stand on your feet for 8hrs •Able to pass drug screen/background check Complete your application on line at www.naonsite.com Production / Manufacturing Vance, Alabama Starting pay: $12.00 – $14.50 / hr. • Have 2 years+ Production/Manufacturing experience. • Have Recently Lived in Alabama at least 2 years. • Have A High School Diploma or GED. • Are at least 18 years old. Complete your application on line at www.naonsite.com Oxford Healthcare in Montgomery currently hiring certified CNA’s and/ or Home Health aides in the Clanton, Marbury and Maplesville areas. Must be able to pass complete background check, have reliable transportation and have a strong work ethic. Serious inquires only. Call 334-409-0035 or apply on-line at www. Oxfordhealthcare.com Move in Special! 3/2 Garden Home w/garage. Dishwasher, Fenced backyard, Great Room w/ vaulted Ceiling. Calera Schools. Rent $1150. FLAT SCREEN TV!! (205)433-9811
Southeastern Food Merchandisers NOW HIRING Class-A CDL Food Service Delivery Drivers with 1 year experience!!! Pay & Benefits •Home daily •Schedules allow you to depart and return to same terminal daily •Dispatches are single day routes, nothing runs overnight or multi-day! •Paid by weight delivered, miles, and stops •Drivers running single driver routes are earning $75,000-$100,000 yearly! •Team and Helper routes are earning $65,000+ yearly What we offer in addition to route pay! •Attendance/Accuracy bonuses •Wkly-pay w/ direct deposit •401(k) w/ company match, eligible after 6-months with quarterly enrollment •Blue Cross of AL health & dental insurance, company subsidized •Two different medical plans for Blue Cross depending on your needs •Vision Insurance, company subsidized •Basic Life and AD&D 100% employer paid •Company paid Short-Term Disability •Voluntary Life & AD&D also provided on post-tax basis for you, and your family Email resume: ofrye@southeasternfood. com Call:205-685-4534 South Haven Health & Rehab, Hoover NOWHIRING!!! • LPN’s & RN’sAll Shifts-Shift Differential -$3000 Sign on Bonus!!!! • Dietary Aide Apply in person or email: ken. holmes@nhsmgt.com
Stellar Staffing, LLC Customer Service Is Our Passion NOW HIRING!!! Pelham • Calera • Alabaster • Clanton Starting pay: $10hr-$13hr • General Labor • Heavy Equipment Operator • Machine Operator • Crane Operator Please apply on-line: www. stellarstaffingllc.com Questions Call: 205-9162860 CLOCK REPAIR SVS. * Setup * Repair * Maintenance. I can fix your Mother’s clock. Alabaster/Pelham. Call Stephen (205)663-2822 Electrician - FT Supreme Electric, local-based company in Pelham. Must be willing to learn & work hard. Go to: supremeelectric-al. com Print employment application under Contact Us. Mail to: Supreme Electric 231 Commerce Pkwy Pelham, AL 35124 or call 205-453-9327. TaylorMade Transportation Hiring CDL Drivers for Flatbed Regional Division! BCBS Insurance After 30 Days. To apply call: (334)3662269 or email: s.smith@ taylormadeinc.com Become a Dental Assistant in ONLY 8 WEEKS! Please visit our website capstonedentalassisting. com or call (205)5618118 and get your career started! White Oak Transportation is hiring CDL-A drivers in your area. Great Pay! Excellent Benefits! Visit our website www.whiteoaktrans.com for more information EOEM/F/D/V
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MY HOMEWOOD GREER CALVERT
Homewood High School Miss Heritage
Sweet Treats
Savage’s Bakery Since I was little I would always beg to be able to snag a little something from Savage’s, and my day would always be made because of it. I would highly recommend their petite fours! Photo by Lindsey Culver
Meet the Neighbors
Sam’s Super Sandwiches The Graphos’ who own and run the restaurant are my next door neighbors. I grew up going to see them and eating at Sam’s or eating their food when they brought home a little something for me. Their classic options with their perfected cooking will always make it the first place I go eat when I come home from college next year.
For a Run
Lakeshore Greenway I practiced for cross country meets on this track, and I now continue to run on my own time there. It is such a peaceful place to be and a great place to clear your head. Photo by Rebecca Wise
Song + Dance
Homewood High School Auditorium This place holds some of my fondest memories of performing for my favorite activity, show choir, and watching performances by some of my favorite high school show choir groups at our competition South Central Classic. This auditorium also holds a lot of great memories from my years of competing for Miss Heritage.
Bird’s Eye View
The Vulcan I love Vulcan because I believe it truly gives the best full view of Birmingham. I love being able to look out to the city and try to point out the buildings or places that I can recognize from so up high.
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Come visit our new facility, including the new Spa Cahaba
2279 VALLEYDALE RD. SUITE 100 HOOVER, AL 35244
Holly Gunn MD, FAAD
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